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Introduction
Back in the long ago time of the 1970's, we had a ass kicking vampire named Vampirella. Created by the great Forrest Ackerman, she was unique in that she was both the narrator of some of the stories in her comic book, and the star in others. She was sort of an anti-hero, a Blade before Blade, being a vampire from another planet that hunts vampires here on earth. Inspired in part by Barberella, the idea was to have a strong woman who killed the bad guys, and did it looking great.
Frank Frazetta was responsible for many of the covers for the original publisher of Vampirella - James Warren - and therefore did many of the early covers for the comic. Therefore it makes complete sense that Frazetta Girls and ICON Collectibles, who are doing a variety of action figures based on his artwork, include her in their line up.
She just started shipping, and will run you $80 or so, depending on the retailer - and depending on how they handle the tariffs being imposed.
Packaging - ****
As you'd expect, the collector friendly box has Frazetta artwork
front and center. It's also sturdy, has a nice inside fifth panel,
and shows off the figure and accessories nicely.
Sculpting - ***1/2
You get some very nice options with this figure, thanks to three
different head sculpts and two different hair sculpts, all
interchangeable.
She comes wearing the basic portrait, not too intense but with enough life to avoid the mannequin look. It is very finely sculpted, and quite beautiful, but keeps the level of detail at the comic art style.
The second portrait is a bit more pissed off, mouth wide, fangs ready to chomp on you. There's no blood...yet.
The third portrait has a sly smile, a wry grin that tells you she loves what she does...and a fair share of blood running down her chin.
You can swap any of these easily, and you can add one of two different hair styles. There's the long straight hair, which is slightly less detailed in terms of texture, or the shorter, wind blown hair, which has a bit more stranding and sculpted detail. They attach to the top of the head with a post that fits in a small hole.
A minor nit on all three portraits is the eyes. They need a little more emotion, particularly in the smiling and open mouth portraits.
It's also worth noting the body work in this particular case. Vampirella is a full figured lady, with large breasts and a butt you could bounce a quarter off of. I wouldn't recommend it, however. While the articulation breaks up some of the beautiful sculpt, it's still a well designed compromise between sculpting and posability.
This is a 1/12 scale line, and she comes in just over 6" tall. For comparison, she fits in nicely with the One:12 Collective line up.
In the photo below you can see the difference the hair sculpt can make.
Paint - ***1/2
The paint work is excellent, particularly on all three
portraits. The eyes are clean, and the edges are sharp and well
defined. The visible teeth look great, and the dripping blood on
the chin is well done.
The work on the body does have a bit of a wobbly edge here or there, particularly on the edge of the suit. Colors are bright and consistent however, and the gold - always a tricky color - is very well done.
The paint work on the two skulls is also worth noting, as both look realistic and with just the right amount of wash to bring out the details.
Articulation - ****
There's no lack of joints on this figure, that's for sure.
It starts with the ball jointed neck, which has plenty of lean and tilt. Sure, the hair may get in the way of some of it, particularly the longer version, but you can still get some attitude in those poses.
The torso is cut to allow even more movement in the rotating hinge/butterfly shoulders, and the rotating hinge elbows and wrists add plenty of movement to the arms. She has a rocker joint at her chest, to allow you to turn and lean the upper torso, and it's positioned to create the least effect on the body sculpt.
The legs finish up with ball jointed hips, rotating hinge knees, and pin ankles. She can take natural stances, and manage sitting poses as well. The hip joint makes good use of the natural division at the costume, and the butt is part of the leg sculpt, maximizing the look of the overall sculpt.
Accessories - ****
I already mentioned those two extra portraits and additional
hair piece, but these go a long way to increasing the score in
this section as well.
In addition she has eight hands, three sets of grips/poses and two extra posing right hands. These swap easily, but they do have very tiny posts so it's important to take extra care.
There are three bats included, each with a slightly different pose. With a little effort, you can get a couple of them to pose on the fingers of some of the hands.
There's an additional gold arm band, which I put on mine and included with all the photos.
There's a human skull, as well as a demon skull, which she can hold or have as trophies.
And while all that's great, the icing on the cake is an excellent display base. It is a cemetery diorama, complete with several headstones, two of which belong to Frank and Eleanor Frazetta. You can display her directly on it, thanks to two foot pegs, or you can use it as a backdrop in the display. Either way, the sculpt and paint work make it an excellent addition.
Fun Factor - ***1/2
Combine her with some other vampires in the collection, or just
match her up with your other Frazetta figures, either way you
can have a lot of fun coming up with interesting display ideas.
And thanks to the multiple heads and hair, you can swap it up
over time.
Value - *1/2
Unfortunately, this is the one area where you'll feel the pain.
I've seen her at $80 to $100 at various retailers, and I think a
large part of this wide discrepancy is confusion and worry over
the new tariffs being put in place and how they affect toys.
Even once this confusion is worked out, I expect collecting
figures is going to become much more expensive for us all, and
the market for new collectible toys may shrink drastically.
The photo below is a NECA 7" scale Dracula with Vampirella,
hanging out around the cemetery.
Things to Watch Out For -
Nothing particular. The wrist pegs are small of course, so take
a bit of care when swapping the hands, but overall everything is
solid and sturdy, and I had no worries while I was working with
the figure.
In the photo below you see her having a quick chat with Count Orlok from Mezco.
Overall - ***1/2
This is no doubt an expensive figure, but I suspect this is the
start of what will become the new normal, and will cause many
collectors to hunker down for awhile, making fewer purchases or
perhaps turning to vintage over new.
Other than that, this figure is top notch, with a beautiful sculpt, great paint, excellent articulation and a plethora of goodies. She'll make a nice addition to any 1/12 display, and I've included several photos of her with other lines to make the point. In the photo below, there's this Frazetta Girls figure with a previous release, Dark Wolf.
An amusing side note - as I was writing this, I was also rewatching a truly awful early eighties slasher movie called 'Graduation Day'. The teen killer had a poster of Vampirella on his wall - what a co-ink-e-dink!
Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ****
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - ***1/2
Articulation - ****
Accessories - ****
Fun Factor - ***1/2
Value - *1/2
Overall - ***1/2
Where to Buy
Online options include these site sponsors:
- Entertainment Earth is at $110. Once it's in stock, use my link and get an additional 10% off, plus free shipping!
- or you can search ebay for a deal.
Related Links -
Other Frazetta Girl figures include Dark Wolf and Teegra.
You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.
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This product was provided for the review by the manufacturer.
Photos and text by Michael Crawford.
